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Severe Vision Errors and
Corrective Eye Surgery for
Older People
If you are 40 or older or
have severe vision problems,
you may want to discuss
these options with your eye
surgeon:
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Monovision. With this
approach, LASIK may be
used to correct one eye
for distance vision and
the other eye for near
vision as a solution for
presbyopia, a focusing
problem that affects all
people beginning at
around age 40. However,
some people cannot
adjust to monovision.
You might first consider
wearing contact lenses
providing monovision or
trying it with "trial
lenses" in your doctor's
office, to make sure
this approach works for
you. CK also provides a
type of monovision, but
with a more full range
of vision in the
corrected eye.
Multifocal or Accommodating
IOLs. If you choose this
type of lens for a
refractive lens exchange or
cataract surgery, your eye's
natural lens will be
replaced permanently. These
artificial lenses
potentially can restore a
full range of vision, but
can also produce side
effects such as decreased
depth perception or night
vision problems in the form
of halos or glare. Also, you
may still need to wear
eyeglasses or contact lenses
or have a "laser touch-up,"
because it's possible the
lenses will fall short of
restoring a full range of
vision. Be sure and discuss
the pros and cons of these
new lenses with your eye
surgeon.
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Vision Correction for
Severe Nearsightedness
or Farsightedness.
LASIK, PRK, and other
laser vision correction
procedures do have their
limitations and may not
be the best option for
you if you have severe
nearsightedness or
farsightedness. Some eye
surgeons consider
implantable lenses
(Visian ICL and
Verisyse) the best
option for extreme
nearsightedness.
Refractive lens
exchange, in which the
eye's natural lens is
replaced with an
artificial one, is a
possible option for
extreme farsightedness.
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